Texan Proves Beer Really Is Valued in Asia

The ongoing saga involving Heineken , Asia-Pacific Breweries and ThaiBev and their fight for control of one of Asia’s biggest beverage businesses has demonstrated the immense value of the humble bottle of beer. But one seasoned traveler recently went even further to demonstrate the value of the fuzzy suds: traveling over 5,000 kilometers, with just beer as barter.

As part of a social experiment and advertising campaign for Heineken, Texas-born adventurer Justin Bratton traveled from Shangdu in Inner Mongolia to Bangkok, following parts of the Spice Route traversed by Marco Polo in the 13th century. The catch is that he carried no cash – dozens of bottles of Heineken beer, which he then traded for rides, information and other travel essentials. Accompanied by a film crew, he was also in regular contact with the brewmeisters at Heineken, who made arrangements to top up his stash whenever he was running low.

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Mr. Bratton, a Bangkok-based model and actor, had like many people backpacked around Southeast Asia, relying on the kindness of strangers for directions and staying in cheap lodging. This adventure, he says, was entirely different.

“It is still easy to isolate (oneself) as a backpacker,” said Mr. Bratton, who is 30. The latest trip “created a way where I had no choice but to get out of my comfort circle – it was just me out there,” though of course the helpful Heineken folks were never far away.

His adventures saw him riding in a sidecar with sheep in Mongolia, on camels in China, on fruit carts in Vietnam, jumping on boats and riding on horses – with beer as a reward for any help he received.

Mr. Bratton’s final destination was a so-called Sensation Party in Bangkok on Aug. 18, at which more than 10,000 people dressed in white, partying until 6 a.m.– an event Mr. Bratton considers one of the highlights of his trip.

Heineken officials approached Mr. Bratton about mounting the expedition, figuring his good looks and charm would come in handy on the road. The purpose was to show how far Heineken can go around Asia and to further promote the brand, and they made sure their Texan traveler sported a Heineken logo on his backpack.

“[The organizers] were quite insistent that I did not get myself thrown in jail,” Mr. Bratton said. “I don’t think that was the kind of publicity they would have wanted.” He admitted, too, that he had to take two flights during the course of his travels, though he did not specify where those flights were to and from. His entire journey from Mongolia to Bangkok was completed in two weeks.

Without knowing any Mandarin or Vietnamese and never having traveled through eastern Asia before, Mr. Bratton said there were some points when the prospects of completing his journey seemed bleak. He said he did successfully use beer to trade for all his food and lodging, though some travel requirements had to be planned and paid for prior to the adventure, including visas to cross borders.

“At the start I was very confident, but after you get rejected a couple of times, you start to wonder,” he said in an interview in Singapore. “I started in Inner Mongolia… there really isn’t much out there. But people like beer, which helps.”

Describing one of his more surreal encounters, Mr. Bratton recounted wrestling with a Mongolian in a remote village, after riding a horse through rural land. In the evening, he stayed in a yurt with his Mongolian hosts, who used a potent gas chemical to kill thousands of bugs hovering around their ceiling during meal time. The result: pieces of lamb interspersed with a variety of bugs, including flying beetles.

“I think everyone had some of those bugs – you couldn’t even tell what you were eating anymore,” he added. “They were hard to pick out.”

He added that “a little bit of not knowing” what he was doing also helped, with most strangers puzzled by the sight of a man by the side of the road, with nothing but a backpack filled with beer.

With so many bizarre experiences, Mr. Bratton hopes his adventures could be someday made into a movie. Though his journey through Asia is being promoted on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook in short web episodes, Mr. Bratton thinks his trip also proves something else – that you do not need social media to form meaningful relationships and meet fascinating people.

“Social media is great, but it is too easy to have shallow relationships,” he said. “Look what you can do face-to-face, without any social media at all?”

Full webepisodes of Justin Bratton’s adventures can be found on Youtube, and on thepassport.sg.

About Southeast Asia Real Time

Indonesia Real Time provides analysis and insight into the region, which includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. Contact the editors at SEAsia@wsj.com.

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